State / In Brief

May 11, 2014

LOS ANGELES - A United Airlines flight has arrived safely back at Los Angeles International Airport after smoke was reported in the cockpit and cabin during a flight to Hawaii.

Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Ian Gregor says United Flight 1296 landed without incident at 11:38 a.m. Saturday, about three hours after it took off.

United spokesman Charles Hobart says nobody was hurt.

The Boeing 757 was headed for Kona International Airport with about 150 people on board when the smoke was reported by crew members.

Fire Department engines and ambulances sent to the airport as a precaution were released after the safe landing.

Hobart says passengers will be transferred to other flights and the aircraft will undergo a thorough inspection by maintenance crews.

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Mental hospital chief takes job in Hawaii

PUEBLO, Colo. - The superintendent of Colorado's mental hospital is leaving for a similar job in Hawaii.

The Pueblo Chieftain reported Saturday that William May will step down as head of the Colorado Mental Health Institute at Pueblo on May 30.

May has been superintendent since 2012. His tenure included the 2013 sanity evaluation of James Holmes, who pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to killing 12 people in a Denver-area movie theater.

The evaluation was done by a psychiatrist under contract to the hospital. The judge ruled that it was flawed and ordered another exam, which will also be done under the auspices of the state hospital.

The Hawaii hospital is dealing with a rash of assaults by patients on staff. Some employees say the assaults left them unable to work.